Category: Uncategorized

I know that one person alone can’t remove the stigma from mental health, but I can help increase conversions. By sharing my own struggle, maybe I can help give someone else the courage to speak up about their own experiences.

I would like to give hope to others that struggle with mental illness.

Depression and anxiety have a large impact on my life and everyday decisions in ways that I can’t even explain and that you won’t understand unless you’ve experienced it. It can be hard to see past your mental illness and difficult to plan something huge for the future. But I’ve always wanted to do an adventure like hiking the AT and I won’t let my mental health stop me.

By sharing my story, maybe I’ll convince someone else that they too can go after their goals or adventure because you don’t have to do it alone.

I know where I am; I’m not stranded in the desert or anything. But I don’t know where I am in life. I’m sitting here at my desk in my dorm room wondering what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m in the second semester of my senior year. I just got back from studying abroad, and I planned on taking extra classes I’m interested in but sitting in those courses just doesn’t feel right. I feel like I’m no longer in that place of my life. I find myself questioning my place.

Should I be preparing for life after graduation? I’m hiking the AT after graduation.

Should I be spending most of my time preparing for the hike? I plan on doing practice hikes, testing my gear, and acquiring what I still need. But what then?

Should I be doing an internship just for the sake of doing an internship? I know that I need to be preparing for the world of job hunting post graduation and post AT hike, but what does that look like now? Should I be reaching out to companies already?

I am in a place of transition and I think that is scarier than preparing for a 4-7 month hike and scarier than the potential of a jobless future.

As the wifi in my dorm got increasingly worse, the pressure of finals loomed nearer, and my motivation began to wain, my blog went on an unplanned hiatus. I sometimes have difficulty maintaining my motivation to write on my blog but now that I am stateside again, it is a little bit easier to start writing again!

Although my blogging was on hiatus, I made sure to walk several (10 on average) miles a day while I was in China and to take the steps instead of the escalator (mostly) when I had the chance.

Now I am back and ready to begin archiving my adventure and the process I go through!

I will be applying for jobs during my last semester of school to see if there are companies that would let me start in January, which would give me time to hike the trail first. If that is not an option, then I will work at a part-time job or two when I come back and continue applying to more positions.

“Fake news” may be a problem, but you don’t have to worry about fake reviews on this blog.

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Yes, I am seeking sponsorships, but I am not going to pretend I like a product just to be nice. Ask anyone who knows me; my eyebrow would give me away. I will make it clear when a product I am using was given to me and each review will be honest.

Not only would I be wasting my own time with fake reviews, but it would also be dangerous. People who hike the AT need to choose products carefully. I will not risk the safety of any fellow hikers by glossing over any negative details of a product whether it was given to me or I purchased it.